


Points of Divergence

by Mmjohns



Series: Non-cannon Relationship shorts [29]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:48:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 7,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26526232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mmjohns/pseuds/Mmjohns
Summary: A single decision, that is all it can take to change the path of a universe. Turning right instead of left; speaking instead of remaining silent, turning your head at the right moment, any one of these can change the entire path of the universe, like a single flap of a butterfly’s wings. This is the story of one such decision.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Barriss Offee & Ahsoka Tano, Barriss Offee & Luminara Unduli, Barriss Offee/Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Non-cannon Relationship shorts [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/454525
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	1. Falling to darkness

A single decision, that is all it can take to change the path of a universe. Turning right instead of left; speaking instead of remaining silent, turning your head at the right moment, any one of these can change the entire path of the universe, like a single flap of a butterfly’s wings. This is the story of one such decision.

These last few months had been hard, harder even than the war that had raged these last few years. For Barriss, they had been harder still, forced time and again to follow trailing behind the bloody swathe the war had cut through the galaxy and across burned and ravaged worlds, forced to try and heal the unending wounds of the republic’s slave army all the while without someone to confide in.

It was hard to see exactly where her path had started to go so wrong, where the darkness that had always dwelt below had started to bleed through her tight control. But if she were to guess, Barriss would say that it was when she was told she was to be sent to the worlds ravaged by Grievous’ most recent rampage, worlds burned for naught but the pain it would cause. She was in the Jedi temple at the time, the council having told her the news moments earlier before quickly hurrying her off, desperate to get back to the business of waging war, oblivious to her turmoil. 

She managed to keep her composure at first, desperate not to bring embarrassment to her master by being seen losing control in front of others. Before long she found herself in the darkest depths of the temple, far away from prying eyes, and only as she sits there her mind running over and over the anger and pain brought by the council’s decision does she begin to notice the cold chill of the darkness around her deeper and more pronounced than ever before.

Had she been more experienced, had the Jedi not been so overzealous in their attempts to cleanse all notion of the dark from their training except prohibition perhaps she would have recognised the reaching tendrils then, perhaps she would not have found herself stewing in her pain and anger for months until she nearly did the unthinkable. But alas the Jedi did not think such, and instead, Barriss sits in the darkened bowels of the Jedi temple completely unaware as the darkness beneath begins to encroach upon her.


	2. The plan

The plan itself was not conceived in a moment, but rather was built over long months exposed to the pain and suffering inflicted upon the galaxy. Faced with the horrors of galactic warfare, horrors Barriss as a healer was never prepared for it was easy to see a pattern.  
Blood, that was all anyone seemed to respond to anymore, blood and suffering. Nothing else would get through to the Jedi, or the Senate. They had become insensate to the pain of their people, divorced from all but the most horrendous crimes through their slave army, if a battle was lost they just ordered more clones, if a fleet was lost they just built more ships, if a world was burned, they offered their sympathies but no action. 

Part of Barriss recoiled at the thoughts that were in her head, knowing they weren’t entirely her own, but another part, a growing, and festering part of her screamed at her this was the only option, the only path to salvation, to cause so much pain, to cause such a shock to their systems that they had no choice but to pay attention. 

And that was when the plan started to form, to strike at the very heart of this war, the Jedi who lead the armies, on the world which feels so safe, and insulated. It wasn’t hard to take inspiration from what she has seen these last few years, human weapons, people exploited for the gain of others, used as patsies for their puppet masters and with the force, and her anger, she had all the power she needed to make her plans come to fruition


	3. The moment of hesitation

Despite meticulous planning, despite months of preparation, a single moment, a single piece of affection is all it takes to bring it all crashing down.

For months now, Barriss has become used to being alone, to having no one to support her. Instead, she often finds herself sitting in places of suffering, tapping into the force, feeling all the pain and resentment around her, like a tidal wave that can not be suppressed. Even on coruscant she oft finds herself back in the bowels of the Jedi temple surrounded by a dark presence.

But surprisingly it is the concerned question of a single person that has her questioning everything, that has her hesitating, that has what little frayed emotional control she still possesses snapping like a twig. And it is the fact that this person actually stays, that they show her more attention and care than anyone she can remember that has her hesitating, especially when the person showing her such care was the very one she was planning to frame for her crimes.


	4. Decisions to be made

Barriss had long given up on anyone noticing anything, on anyone actually caring about her enough to notice her pain, let alone try and help her with it. Even her master is oblivious to her turmoil, to the roiling waves of pain and anger she feels every day. But somehow, somehow Ahsoka, a Padawan, years her junior has managed to notice something is wrong. Part of her screams to enact the plan now, before she is caught, before anyone can stop her. But the other part the part that had shrunken and hidden away when faced with the darkness she sees everyday claws at her, begs her to ask for help, and at that moment be it the surprise of having someone actually care about her, or be it something else she cracks, and in a broken, sobbing voice she says “I need help, I think I’ve done something terrible”


	5. Clawing back her decisions

Surprisingly to Barriss unlike everyone else Ahsoka doesn’t even blink at her confession. Instead she pulls the other woman into a hug and holds her there, before gently pulling her away, moving away from the temple and the ears and eyes within.

Eventually they arrive at Dex`s diner, a few levels down, but still with a view of the sky and before she knows what happens Dex is handing them trays of food as Ahsoka pulls them towards a booth in the back. 

For the longest time they just sit there in silence, Ahsoka content to wait for Barriss to speak, simply chewing away at the nerf steak she was given. Eventually, however, Barriss begins to talk. 

She starts years ago, before the war, when being a healer meant something else, before the realities of a galaxy-wide conflict dragged her into the ever building maelstrom of pain and suffering. And then gradually she finds herself explaining how isolated she feels, how the council seems content to send her on mission after mission, patching over the cracks in the ever crumbling republic. How she hasn’t even spoken to her master in nearly half a year, or seen her for nearly 18 months, how in all that time no one seemed to notice that she was drowning, how no one seems to care that everything she has done is pointless, that she feels pointless. 

And then she tells her about the last few months, about the plan, about how the force whispers to her, helping her, guiding her, pushing her, pressing her onward, and how it all seemed to make so much sense, how in some ways it still does.

Throughout this all Ahsoka watches her, listening, considering, and then once she has finished, when Barriss is sure she will call the clones to arrest her, when Ahsoka should condemn her, she instead offers her hand. And in a soft voice that carries only so far as their booth, she says “I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that, but it is not too late, you have made some bad decisions, but we can still make things right. Let me help you, let me help you fix this, and then you and I can decide where YOU want to go from there. If you want to leave and never see me again, or if you want my help to track down and force your master to talk to you, whatever you decide, if you want my help you have it, it isn’t too late, not yet, please Barriss let me help you”

Barriss looks Ahsoka in the eye, she can feel the way Ahsoka looks at her viscerally, it is a way she has never been seen before. Not as just another Jedi, not as just another tool, but as she is, and perhaps more importantly as something important, and so it is that she manages to nod her agreement, and feels the first spark of hope in a long time.

Ahsoka for her part manages a grin, quickly tearing another chunk of her nerf steak off as she says “Great, in that case, eat up, we have a lot of work to do and not much time to do it”


	6. Unravelling the mistakes of the past

Once they leave the dinner, Ahsoka wastes no time dragging Barriss to Senator Amidala’s office. For Barriss at first, this is terrifying as she fears Ahsoka may have changed her mind, that she may have decided to turn her back on Barriss after all. Barriss wouldn’t have blamed her for doing so after all Ahsoka owes her nothing, and she had just confessed to planning to bomb their childhood home, potentially killing dozens of people in the process.

However, Ahsoka seems to key onto her fear and wastes no time entangling their hands, rubbing against Bariss’ knuckles reassuringly as she says “It will all be ok, I promise, I’ll get Padmè to help, she owes me after all the times I’ve helped her and Anakin avoid Master Kenobi.”

And with a single sentence Bariss’ mind is spinning off in a new direction, not even giving her time to consider her own fate, so surprised she is hearing that apparently Anakin Skywalker has been hooking up with the senator from Naboo, and furthermore, Ahsoka has been helping them hide it from her grandmaster. She becomes so focused on this new piece of news she barely notices as they arrive at the Republica 500 towers, and make their way through security. Evidently, Ahsoka has been telling the truth because the guards don’t even look sideways at her as she makes her way toward the elevator all the while talking about the times that Mater Kenobi had nearly caught Anakin and would have had it not been for Ahsoka’s help.

When they arrive at the apartments of the senator they are quickly greeted by 3PO who hurries them in before inviting them into the entertaining room all the while offering food and drink as he assures them his mistress will be down momentarily. Barris for her part declines the offers of food and drink, still feeling sure that as soon as the senator learns what she has done, she will not be here long enough to enjoy it. Ahsoka for her part, however, requests a couple of cups of caf, and some cookies.

It only takes a few minutes more for Padmè to appear, smiling openly and freely she wanders down the stairs as she says “Ahsoka, I wasn’t expecting you for a few more days, how are you?”

Ahsoka doesn’t hesitate to get up and move to embrace Padmè in a quick hug on the stairs as she says “I’m well Padmè, we managed to get things tidied up a bit quicker than expected. Anakin sends his apologies, he would be here but Master Obi-wan asked him to accompany him on an errand for the Duchess Satine.”

“Ahh, say no more,” Padmè says smiling and shaking her head lightly “it still amazes me that Anakin hasn’t figured out what is going on between Obi-Wan and the Duchess, but then again I would have thought Obi-Wan knew about Ani and I too, I guess they’re both oblivious.”

A few moments pass as Ahsoka chuckles at Padmè’s statement before they are both making their way back over toward Barriss, as they do Ahsoka says “Senator Padmè Amidala, I’d like you to meet Padawan Barris Offee, Barriss this is Padmè.”

As Barris rises, Padmè with a small smile offer “Padawan Offee, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise senator” Barris responds with a small curtsy

They remain silent a moment longer before Ahsoka says “Padmè, as much as I wish I could say that this was purely a social visit, we don’t have much time, and I could really use your help.”

Padmé’s demeanour shifts in moments, and it is easy to see the woman who had to lead her people through an invasion as she asks “what’s wrong Ahsoka?”

Bariss, for her part, marshalls her courage and answers, “it’s me Senator, I’ve done something terrible and I need help to fix it before it gets worse.”

The next several hours are spent bringing Padmè up to speed, explaining what Barris had been planning, what ruin she had nearly brought to fruition, and perhaps most importantly, why she had done it. Padmè for her part remains mostly silent for the explanation following along as Barriss tells her about how she came to her path, about the pain and suffering she had witnessed, about how all she wanted was for someone to listen, to pay attention to how far they had shifted away from their ideals.

And then after her last word had been spoken, right as Barriss was sure Padmè would call the guards on her, she instead hears Padmè say “I’m so sorry Barriss.”

Barris looks at Ahsoka shocked before turning back to the senator and asking “wait, what, why are you sorry, I’m the terrorist here?”

Padmè looks at the Padawan seemingly drawing herself together as she says “I’m sorry because I’m the reason this war started the way it did, I’m the reason the Jedi lead the army into that arena on Geonosis. I’m the one that pushed the Senate to put the Jedi on the front lines leading troops into battle.”

She sighs her eyes turning distant as if recalling a memory from a lifetime ago, not only a few years earlier “I guess I never questioned if the Jedi would even want to fight because when the trade federation attacked Naboo, Obi-wan and Qui-gon were so quick to join us in battle, then Anakin over the years has always seemed so capable, I never imagined it would have this effect, I was blind.” 

Padmè trails off a moment before focussing on Barriss again as she says “I’m sorry because if it weren’t for my impulsive actions years ago, you would not have been separated from your master, you wouldn’t have felt so alone, and perhaps this never would have happened. I will do whatever I can to help you make this right.”


	7. Actions have consequences

Despite their protests that Padmè isn’t responsible for this in any way, the woman seems determined not to accept it. Instead, she starts making calls and in less than a few hours both Barriss’ accomplice and her husband are being quietly snatched up by the clone security bureau following an anonymous tip. Luckily for them, the clones manage to find them before the husband can report for his shift at the Jedi temple. And luckily for Barriss herself, her accomplice decides that death is preferable to capture instead choosing to try and fight her way out, detonating a small stockpile of explosives in the process.

Despite this Barriss still finds herself unable to stomach the thought of what she had nearly done, and it takes several hours of Ahsoka sitting next to her to dissuade her from throwing herself at the mercy of the Republic’s court systems.

Meanwhile, whilst Ahsoka is keeping Barriss company Padmè quietly summons both Obi-Wan and Anakin to her apartments making sure the pair know to come alone and to slip in the back away from Ahsoka and Barriss. 

Once they arrive, there is an almost palpable tension between them as Padmè begins to explain what she has learnt and what has happened. To say both Anakin and Obi-Wan are shocked would be an understatement, both of them had worked with Barriss, and neither had any idea that the young woman was so troubled.

Anakin for his part finds himself feeling a kinship to the young woman, after all, he has always struggled with every clone he has lost, unable to come to see them as cogs in the machine-like so many others do. And perhaps most surprisingly of all, he can imagine himself doing what Barriss was doing where he ever forced into her position, alone and scared.

Obi-Wan, on the other hand, feels a sense of shame, he has always been close with Luminara, and she had confided in him that she thought her time away from Barriss could be harming the young woman. But given his experience with Anakin and Ahsoka, he merely ended up advising her that everything would be fine. And now all of a sudden he finds himself reconsidering everything he thought he knew about how this war was affecting those around him. All he can say thus far is that he is glad Ahsoka and Anakin have had each other to lean on these last years and promise himself never to let them feel as isolated and scared as Barriss must feel.

Eventually, the trio makes their way out from the backroom, and head into the room where Barriss and Ahsoka sit together whispering. As soon as they walk in Barriss stiffens and he sees the way Ahsoka places herself between Barriss and them. Watching the closest thing he will ever have to a grandchild moving to protect the young Mirialan from him causes a stab of pain, a pain he can tell Anakin feels as well. Holding his hands outward as if to show he means no harm, he slowly takes a seat across from the pair, Anakin and Padmè flanking him to one side.

He sits there silent a moment before saying “Padmè told Anakin and I what happened, and I want you both to know, I understand what you’re going through Barriss, I don’t think there is a Jedi alive that has not been tempted by the dark side. It is our job as masters to help you through this, and in this case Barriss we have failed you, and I share responsibility for that. Your master asked me some time ago how I thought this war would affect our Padawans, and I brushed it off. I forgot that wounds were not always visible and that not everyone who was a Jedi was capable of fighting a war.”

He falls silent for a moment considering his next words however, Anakin beats him to it. “I know you don’t see this now, but Obi-Wan is right, this is not on you. This is on those of us who should have seen you were struggling, this is on the council, this is on me, and this is on every other master that didn’t see what was happening because we were too blinded by the battles raging around us.”

There’s a pause, and Anakin’s next words shock Obi-Wan “ I know how you felt, I have felt that way, and I still do some days,” then looking over to Padmè he says “if not for Padmè, and Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan, I can’t say I wouldn’t have done something similar, that I wouldn’t have done something far worse, if I ever lost them I still might”

This proclamation is met by shock from Obi-Wan and Barriss, but it is the resigned acceptance on Ahsoka and Padmé’s faces that is most telling. It leaves Obi-Wan wondering just how he had managed to miss the signs and who else may be suffering from similar wounds.

It is Ahsoka’s voice this time that interrupts the building silence as she asks “what do we do now?”

No one answers for a few moments, and then Barriss speaks “I leave, I leave the order,” turning to look at Ahsoka imploring her to understand she says “I can’t go back there, I can’t be face to face with that darkness every day, I just can’t.”

Ahsoka for her part, doesn’t hesitate to pull her friend in close as across from them Obi-Wan nods his head in agreement. Already he can imagine Luminara’s reaction, her heartbreak at losing someone he knows she considers as her own child. But he also knows that this is what Barriss needs, that she is too raw, to injured to be thrown back into the meat grinder of the war. The only question is how to let her leave the order, and yet not abandon her again, she is too vulnerable to be left alone again, and Obi-Wan for his part feels responsible enough that he won’t let that happen.

Unsurprisingly it is Padmè who comes up with the solution; she looks at Anakin for a moment a conversation passing between them unspoken before she offers “come work for me”.

Barriss is shocked by the offer, but that doesn’t stop her managing to splutter out “Senator, I couldn’t, you, I, just...”

Anakin, however, seeing where this is going says. “I think it is a great idea, Padmè is always getting into trouble, and these last few days aside; everything Ahsoka has told me tells me you’d be the perfect addition to Padmè’s staff. Hell, you might even be able to stop her being kidnapped every few months!”

Despite everything, though Barriss ‘ mind locks onto one part of Anakin’s statement, turning to look at Ahsoka, she asks “you talk to your master about me?”

Ahsoka’s face goes a darker shade of orange as she blushes heavily while her hand comes up to rub her montral as she says “well, I... you would really be great, and we could see each other all the time.”

Across from them Obi-Wan, let’s out chortling cough at Ahsoka’s quick change of subject as Anakin remarks “real smooth there Snips.”

“Shut it Sky-guy” Ahsoka whisper yells shooting Anakin the stink eye


	8. Following through

Despite their best-laid plans, it isn’t as simple as simply resigning from the Jedi Order. Instead, ironically the council is concerned about Barriss falling prey to the dark side once away from the order and joining the Separatists. Ultimately it takes Obi-Wan accepting a place on the council and Ahsoka threatening to desert with Barriss for the council to begin to come around. Even then though they are reluctant to allow Barriss to leave instead agreeing to transfer her permanently to Senator Amidala's security detail with the promise to reassess once the war is over.

As soon as they have made that call though they are surprised again when both Anakin and Ahsoka ask for time off on Coruscant citing stress and the need to reconnect to the force. The immediate response of the council is to deny the request, but surprisingly enough it is Yoda who speaks up to overrule them all.

“Why need this time do you young Skywalker?” Yoda asks

Anakin realising this may be his only chance and seeing the knowing look in the gremlin`s eye responds with “Master, I have spent the last several years moving battlefield to battlefield, I find myself and my Padawan resorting to conflict sooner than we should, we need some time to recenter and recalibrate.”

Around them the council freezes, none of them had expected such an admission from one of their most celebrated generals. Yoda for his part merely nods as if this had confirmed his suspicions before looking to Ahsoka and asking “and you young Tano, what say you?”

“I agree with Master Skywalker, it can be difficult to remember where one is, sometimes it becomes too easy to resort to violence when faced by the same day in and day out.”

Yoda nods consideringly then says “very well, rest you shall have, assigned to the temple you shall be, deploy you only in an emergency we will.”


	9. Chapter 9

The days that follow that meeting are some of the most restful that any of them can remember.

With his new position on the council, Obi-wan finds himself relegated to Coruscant for the foreseeable future while the other members of the council read him in on all the classified projects that he now has clearance to know about. Additionally, those of the high command are being quick to utilise his experience as a front line general in updating the defences of the capital and the local sector. Despite the stresses of holding millions of lives in his hands Obi-wan for the first time in months can rise after the sun and return to his own bed in the evenings. He takes a lot of this spare time to reflect in the room of a thousand fountains, and spend time with Ahsoka and Anakin when they weren’t otherwise engaged.

Anakin utilises the opportunity to spend as much time as he can with Padmé and Ahsoka. He spends hours just sitting in the office with Padmè and a box of droid parts disassembling and reassembling the droids letting the knots of stress that had permeated his being slip away in the face of the peaceful moments. When he is with Ahsoka, for the first time since they met he doesn’t spend every moment drilling the arts of war, instead, he takes the time to show her the world as Obi-Wan once showed him.

He takes her through the markets and the mid-levels. Exploring the world as he shows her all the different cultures that have made their way to the central world. He makes a special note however to avoid the Mirialan sector instead making sure she knows exactly where it is and suggesting that since Barriss was from Mirial, she would know better than he the culture and people, suggesting it may be a good idea for her to show Ahsoka around the sector and it’s people one day when he is with Padmè.

Ahsoka, for her part, spends as much time as she can with Barriss helping her friend adjust to her new situation. She firstly helps Barriss remove what few things she has and take them to the apartment Padmè has furnished for her. Once there she helps the other woman settle in and shows her all the secret nooks and crannies she has found in the Republica towers in case she ever needs them (*read, for the next time someone tries to kidnap Padmè). 

A few days after she has moved in and once Barriss has had an opportunity to settle in and familiarise herself with the new building Ahsoka drags her off towards the Mirialan sector, Anakin’s words still fresh in her mind.

As they make their way there, Barriss seems to relax more fully than she has since she broke down in Ahsoka’s arms back in Padmè’s apartment those long weeks past. Instead, she finds herself relaxing into an easy camaraderie with Ahsoka she can not remember feeling anywhere else. 

A few blocks away they stop off at a small boutique as Barriss acquires a head covering for Ahsoka, the pair spending almost an hour going back and forth over what colour and style it should be, Barriss insisting on a more formal black head covering while Ahsoka was adamant she wasn’t going to a funeral and should wear something with some more colour. Eventually, they compromise with Ahsoka getting a conservatively cut white head covering with some discrete patterns woven in.

Once they leave the boutique, they arrive in the Mirialan sector quickly and soon find themselves lost in the sights and smells of another world. They receive some furtive glances from those around them, even in her Jedi robes and head covering Ahsoka stands out, after all, Togruta aren’t exactly common around the Mirialan sector instead more common in the more open areas of the upper sectors, where they can feel the sun on their skin. Despite this, however, neither allows it to darken their mood as they make their way through the sector, taking the time to enjoy some of the local foods and cultural sights.

Eventually, they are forced to head back, leaving the Mirialan sector as night falls on the cityscape, the pair walking side by side back to the Republica towers. When they eventually make it back to the towers, they find that Anakin is still with Padmè and in the interest of making sure the council doesn’t find out about his relationship Ahsoka declares that she will stay there the night as well, claiming that she and Anakin spent the night in meditation.

Barriss for her part capitalises on this opportunity, proclaiming that since Ahsoka is going to claim to have been meditating it would be suspicious if she returned to the temple the next day uncentered. This results in both her and Barriss staking out a space in the living room side by side and entering a meditative state.

The night itself passes far sooner than Barriss would like, and soon it is morning. The pair had remained side by side throughout the night, first meditating and then simply talking while the relaxing air still lingered. Eventually, however, they’re interrupted as not long after dawn Anakin exits Padmè’s rooms, as soon as he sees the pair he blushes slightly before pulling his cloak on and beckoning Ahsoka to follow as he makes his way from the apartment. Ahsoka is quick to obey and bids Barriss a near-silent farewell, only pausing long enough to place a quick peck to her cheek, causing Barriss to blush furiously and stare thoughtfully after her as Ahsoka rushes after Anakin.


	10. Chapter 10

Despite the respite of the previous few days, peace never seems to last, be it because the war still rages across the galaxy, or because the dark side swirls around Coruscant in an ever growing maelstrom Bariss can not say. Instead all she knows is that right now she is currently sitting in her new quarters, across from her master that she hasn’t seen in years, while trying desperately not to spiral out or focus on the fact that Ahsoka had kissed her and the fact she would really like it to happen again. 

Luminara for her part is not as oblivious or innocent as some may think, and her own history lends her the ability to read some of Barriss’ emotion and distraction, highlighting the similarities between Barriss as she is now, and her own behaviour whenever she thinks of Aayla. 

Normally Luminara would be willing to leave things be, and wait for Bariss to speak up on her own, content in the knowledge that if her apprentice needed her she would ask. However, the disturbance in the force she had felt days earlier when she had heard from Obi-Wan changes her mind, and instead of doing as she had for the last several years, and waiting for Bariss to seek her help, she offers it.

To Bariss her Master’s voice is both soothing and shocking, she can count on one hand the number of times Luminara has offered her opinion without being asked, and yet each one of those situations had been truly pivotal in her life. Yet as much as she wants to pretend everything is ok, as much as she wants to present that perfect image to her master, of the perfect apprentice she can’t take it. She can’t take knowing the truth and sitting across from the woman who helped raise her like nothing was, is, wrong, and so for the first time in her life she cuts her master off.

“Bariss...”

“I have something to tell you!” Barriss intercedes, her voice seeming to ring throughout the room. Bariss’ voice echoes for a moment leaving the room still and silent until Luminara waves her to continue. Barriss takes a deep breath, steeling herself for what is to come and releasing it before continuing, “I... I did something terrible, and if, if it wasn’t for Ahsoka I would have done something far worse, I know this isn’t going to be easy to hear, but I, I need to tell you this, and afterwards, afterwards, if you want to arrest me, or even if you want nothing to do with me, I’ll understand”

As Bariss recounts her story, it is clear to see how distressing Luminara is finding it, however she obeys her apprentice’s implicit request, staying silent as Bariss speaks. By the end she has tears in her eyes, and she is shaking with barely concealed rage and self loathing. Her control at its breaking point when she reaches a hand towards Bariss, what little emotional control she retains snapping when Bariss flinches away from her. 

Moments later she is nearly sobbing as large tears well up in her eyes and she begs Bariss to forgive her for abandoning her in her time of need. Her mind goes back to her own master, and all the times he had tormented her, how she had promised she would be better to her own apprentice. How she had promised herself that her apprentice would never suffer like she had, now confronted with concrete proof of her failure she can feel repressed self loathing and anger swell to the surface again. It is at this moment that she swears to herself she will do better by her apprentice come hell or high water, before she loses her forever. 

Bariss never faced with such emotion from her master defaults to what she has seen others do around those who are distraught, and pulls her master into a hug, her own cheeks quickly becoming wet with tears...

Eventually they pull apart, and Luminara communicates her shame at failing Bariss so badly, while Bariss tries to shoulder it all herself, insistent that she should have been better, or should have sought assistance. Eventually however they fall into a mutual silence, both processing everything they had missed.

They remain like that for some time as a wave of morose energy swirls through the force around them. It is only when Ahsoka rushes through the door that the atmosphere breaks, unable to sustain itself in the face of a red-faced and embarrassed togruta who has just realised the distress she had felt rolling off Bariss in waves was catharsis and not something else.

Luminara for her part chuckles at seeing the young togruta standing before a formerly working door, reminded of an instance years prior where she had seen the girls grandmaster do the same thing. 

Never one to let the situation get away from her however Ahsoka says “so, I guess I’m not needed after all, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go jump in traffic”

Bariss still recovering from the shock shoots to her feet and grabs Ahsoka’s hand before she can leave pulling her back towards herself, her body acting totally on instinct. 

They remain like that for a moment, just staring at each other, neither making a move until after a few minutes and with the formerly morose air completely broken Luminara quickly rises and staring Ahsoka dead in the eyes asks “and what are your intentions toward my apprentice?”


	11. Sheev’s no good very bad year

Sheev Palpatine, was not having a good year. At first everything had been going well, and his war had been chugging along steadily with more and more power finding its way into his hands. But that had all started to change a few months back after General Greivous’ blitzkrieg into the core worlds. Immediately after the attack the feeling of darkness had grown as he had known it would, but most suddenly months afterward, the dark swirling presence around Coruscant had started to be punctured by pinpricks of light and honestly it was starting to give him a tension headache. 

He had managed to trace the beginning of these events to a young Jedi named Barriss Offee and her sudden association with Senator Amidala. As near as he could tell she had come across information regarding a plot to attack the Jedi temple and the senator in her usual fashion had teamed up with the Jedi to stop the attack. That he could tolerate, after all it is hard to raise an army of dark disciples when your potential well of recruits gets blown up. But what he could not tolerate is what clearly happened afterward.

Somehow in the prevailing days the young woman had managed to bumble her way into obstructing his plans, most notably by making Anakin seek counsel from his master and wife more than Sheev himself. He can’t help but look at all the work he has done grooming young Anakin over the years and think that somehow this padawan has managed to unintentionally cock block him. 

With Anakin now seeking advise and guidance from Obi-wan or Yoda, or in the newest case that infuriating Luminara Unduli, Sheev is finding it harder and harder to exert his influence, and worst of all, someone has been helping him become well adjusted. When Anakin does goon missions, he has been taking prisoners, limiting collateral damage, and actually taking ‘measured responses’ to situations. Honestly the thought of his dark knight becoming more well adjusted makes Sheev want to kill everything he holds dear and drive him back into the dark side. 

However try as he might Sheev just can’t manage to kill them, he has tried 17 times in the last 2 months to assassinate either Padmè, Obi-wan, or that annoying youngling, and each time he has come up short. The most embarrassing incident being when the assassins had interrupted Barris and Ahsoka inflagrante delicto only to still be easily dispatched and tossed off the Nabooan senator’s balcony.

At this stage if Sheev didn’t know better he would think the force was laughing at him. Despite this however he is the lord of the Sith, and the lord of the Sith does not backdown when he wants something. It is he decides time for a more direct approach. Reaching into his pockets he draws out a secure comlink before dialling the encrypted number contained within. There is a pause of a few moments, and then the projector springs to life, throwing an image of Count Dooku onto the floor in front of him.

Looking down at his apprentice Sheev sneers as he says “Tyrannus, it is time we dealt with the friends of Anakin Skywalker, they have foiled my plans one time too many, here is what we will do...”


	12. Imma do a thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> as the chapter title suggests, hold, my beer, I'm about to do a thing

All good things must eventually come to an end, and that is how Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-wan find themselves escorting Senator Amidala and Barriss back to Naboo in an attempt to head off a separatist invasion. 

Word had come only days earlier, they had all been in the middle of dinner, taking the rare opportunity to spend some time as the family they were becoming when the word had reached them. A communication had been intercepted between Count Dooku and General Grievous, discussing a plan to conduct a base delta zero assault on Naboo, both to sow fear throughout the surrounding sectors and to create a strategic beachhead which the clones could not survive assaulting.

Within hours they had drawn together a fleet, combining the republic navy, but also in a surprising turn martial forces from both Alderaan and Mandalore. These martial forces were bringing immense shield generators to defend against the bombardment as well as Mandalorian warriors in what had been a complete shock to the Jedi. 

When questioned why she was joining the fight, Duchess Satine had responded by reminding everyone that Mandalore owed the Naboo a debt and that it would be criminal to allow such an atrocity to take place when they could interfere. This combined with the Mandalorian honor rules had lead to what was the largest Mandalorian martial force since their shift towards pacifism. 

Bail Organa when questioned for his part merely responded it was the duty of all sentient beings to stand up when wrongs were being committed, and that they were merely acting to defend a friend not to attack an enemy.

This all of course left the Techno Union and Trade Federation furious, and they had immediately started protesting in the senate, even going so far as to seek an injunction, claiming that this would impinge on their business. The public outcry from this was enormous, becoming so bad as to force a vote to expel all trade unionist representatives from the senate.

Seeing his well-laid plans falling apart in the face of rapidly mounting public sentiment Sheev had quickly tried to quash the vote of expulsion, however, despite the emergency powers allowed him he lacked the ability to quash this unilaterally and with such a severe threat on what had been previously a peaceful people combined with the Alderaan/Chandrillan voting block he finds the motion quickly passed before he can either spin it to his advantage or disallow it. 

Within days the combined forces arrive on Naboo, ever one quick to action Anakin immediately deploys the fleet in a position to block the incoming hyperspace lanes, while Obi-wan and the Duchess deploy the ground forces to defend the shield generators the Alderaniaans are installing. Bariss and Ahsoka for their part accompany Padmè back to Theed and the Queen's palace, taking a small force of the Duchess’s warriors to bolster the palace guard. 

The days that follow are some of the tensest of the war, the Jedi find themselves both in a heightened state of alert, but also unable to do anything. As the days go on they start to wonder if this had been the aim, to cause conflict amongst the senate, and to force the Jedi to occupy an otherwise peaceful planet, drawing ever-increasing negative sentiment from the population. They try their best to be in-obtrusive to the Naboo, yet having thousands of clones across your planet, guarding giant shield generators while Mandalorians spar in the surrounding fields is far from discrete. Eventually though, on the 17th day, they arrive, a veritable armada of Separatist warships drop out of hyperspace, releasing swarms of fighters, bombers, and landing craft. 

Immediately the Republic forces order a retreat, back to where they can be protected by the overlapping shields that encircle the planet. As they drop back they lay wide swaths of fire toward the enemy formation, destroying countless droids and opening up escape routes for a handful of blockade runners who punch their way out and into hyperspace carrying news of the assault and calling for reinforcements.

As soon as the Republic forces are under the cover of the shields their weapons fall silent, lacking the sophisticated fire control systems needed to open timed apertures in the shields to allow them to fire outward. Instead, those that can, make their way down to the planet, the acclamators landing to contribute their immense power reactors to boost the shield generators, while Venators and Victory Star Destroyers hover protectively overhead.

Within moments of arriving on station the Separatists commence their bombardment, immense waves of energy falling towards the planet only to be caught by the iridescent bubble surrounding the world. This constant influx of energy causes no end of disruption to the communications systems, and in moments all hope of receiving transmissions from outside the cities, let alone the outside galaxy is cutoff, requiring them to instead result to messengers and line of sight transmissions between the hovering ships. 

Knowing that for the moment at least there is nothing they can do, the Jedi and their allies stand down their troops, ordering non-essential troops to help the Naboo make whatever preparations they need, as well as taking the opportunity to get some rest before what is sure to be a pitched battle. For the Mandalorians and the 501st, this means more and more sparring, Rex and his clones being quick to take whatever chances they can to train with those better than they. 

While their warriors prepare for days ahead the Jedi and their allies find themselves locked in the Theed palace, pouring over battle maps and drawing figurative lines in the sand for the coming battle. The queen herself is quick to take a step back, realizing that she is ill-prepared to lead this battle she hands over command to Senator Amidala, and instead focuses on minimizing the impact on the civilian population.

Padmè for her part struggles with the planning, having to rely and lean on Anakin more and more during the battle planning, the memories of the first battle of Naboo suddenly fresh in her mind, the smell of ozone, and seared flesh making her gag whenever they take over her mind during moments of distraction.

Obi wan similarly finds himself remembering the first battle of Naboo, except for him it wasn’t the first time he had been in a war, nor was it the last, instead he finds himself turning back to an old friend, and an old comfort in the Duchess Satine. During the day they work together to minimize casualties and prevent mass loss of life, at night they share memories of happier times, trying to distract themselves from the horrors at their doorstep.

To Ahsoka, at first this is but another battle, the hardest part for her is watching her master and grandmaster struggle. But quickly it becomes about something more than that, it becomes more and more about the pain of the woman she has come to love. It becomes about the pain that Bariss who has seen the worst this war has to offer feels, about the steadily growing anguish she feels radiating off her, it becomes about how to help her.

For Bariss, the hardest part isn’t the fighting itself, it is the lingering darkness inside her that grows every day as the bombardment continues. The very darkness that torments her with memories of other planets just like this one, planets littered with bodies and destroyed families. She can smell the death, she can hear the screams, and she can feel the scorching wind on her face. The only thing keeping her from losing it is Ahsoka, Ahsoka who stands beside her day and night, whose mere presence is like a calming balm, whose very light chases the darkness away, she doesn’t know what she would do without her, and she hopes she never has to find out. 

This all comes to a head however on day 32 of the bombardment, when followed by a burst of static the bombardment stops and the clones attack.


End file.
